


Shows me colors when there's none to see

by athenejen



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly
Genre: Crossover, F/F, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 23:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athenejen/pseuds/athenejen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Faith finds passage on Serenity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shows me colors when there's none to see

**Author's Note:**

  * For [liberateanimum](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=liberateanimum).



> This is all sort of an enormous experiment. Premise suggested by liberateanimum for the [](http:)first kiss meme. Originally posted [](http:)here on 6/1/07.

The first time Inara sets eyes on Faith, she's standing at the railing overlooking the cargo bay. They've touched down on Greenleaf for a bit and Kaylee's been sitting out in front of Serenity all day with a blanket and a picnic basket, working on some mechanical thing and eating apples and lying in wait for just the right passenger or two to wander by. Five minutes before leaving time, Inara hears voices in the cargo bay and follows the sound out of her shuttle to look.

The girl's holding a half-eaten apple and peering around like she's finding all the hidden corners and then some besides, smiling just slightly as Kaylee beams and waves her hands about and provides a breathless rundown of all the areas of the ship. She tosses the apple up, catches it, and just as she's about to take another bite her eyes meet Inara's and Kaylee bursts out with, "And that's Inara! Inara's a Companion. Inara," she calls up, "This here's Faith! She's gonna come with us to Persephone! And she brought _mangoes_."

\-----

The second time Inara sees Faith is at dinner. It's clear she doesn't know what to make of everyone quite yet, her gaze darting around to follow any hints of movement as well as the flow of conversation. But every so often Inara can feel those brown eyes come to rest on her, only to flicker away whenever Inara looks up to meet them.

Between Mal's blunt questions (she's meeting a friend on Persephone, she's not sure how long she'll be staying, she damn well knows how to use that knife she's carrying) and Kaylee's friendly prattle, Faith seems to gradually relax. She pitches in with the washing-up, and by the time Inara leaves the room, a card game's in the works and Faith and Jayne are swapping stories of weapon acquisition, pride clear in their voices.

\-----

The third time Faith and Inara meet, Inara turns from her console to find the girl slouched in the shuttle doorway, looking half-nervous and almost unconsciously defiant.

"Uh, Kaylee said you wouldn't mind, but you look busy so I'll just be going," she shoots out as she starts to back up.

"No, no, please come in." Inara remembers how strange living on Serenity had seemed at first, so oddly welcoming yet still so alien. Inara stands and gestures for Faith to sit on the settee near the mirror. "Tea?" she offers.

Faith looks like she wants to refuse, but says, "Sure," like she's not sure what else to do. Inara can feel the weight of her stare as she glides gracefully around the shuttle preparing the tea, movements like second nature after years of practice.

Taking the seat next to Faith, Inara hands her delicately toasted genmai cha in a burnt-iron teacup, square-edged and solid. Faith takes an instinctive sip, and her face betrays surprise and pleasure at the rich, warm taste. She drains the cup, then toys with it as Inara takes a sip of her own tea.

"Is there... something you wished to ask me?" Inara finally says, as Faith seems intent on looking everywhere but at Inara.

"I..." Faith laughs, a rueful bark that seems to shake her back into herself. "I'm... I gotta go. Thanks for the tea." And before Inara can protest, she's gone, leaving a faint trail of ash and musk scent in her wake.

\-----

The fourth time, Inara exits her shuttle to find Faith sitting on the floor of the upper catwalk with her legs dangling over the edge, intently buffing the blade of a wickedly elaborate knife. Upon noticing Inara she hops up, smoothly sheaths the blade, and says, "Yo," with a little wave of her left hand.

"Hello," answers Inara. Faith seems to be almost vibrating in front of her, tightly-wound in the way of a fighter in the midst of losing a very long war, more like Mal on Unification Day than anyone that young ought to be.

"I just, I need to..." and then she slides her hand along Inara's jaw, rubbing her thumb over Inara's bottom lip and hesitating just a breath before leaning in to close her lips over it and mimic the motion with her tongue.

When Inara kisses her back she tastes cinnamon and blood and just that hair's-breadth of ash, and concentrates on infusing as much comfort into the heat as she can.


End file.
